"To Be" Deciding It Is Time For Bed

Accepting that the day is at its end.

Letting go of the things still left to do.

Trusting that you will take on tomorrow.

Acknowledging the body's need for rest.

Choosing to restore and recharge your brain.

Graciously allowing your body to heal over the night.

Deciding it is time for bed is your autonomy over the worlds push and pulls. You get to make the call when its time for sleep (unless you are a kid, sorry). I used to consider myself a night owl and found productivity in the dark of nights. It served me well at times, rearranged my room plenty and wrapped up assignments of several occasions. I would wake up super groggy and frustrated with my past self for not shutting things down earlier the night before. I admit, I craved a lifestyle of choosing rest and watching more sunrises in my life. It was FOMO (fear of missing out) all those years. As an ambitious tasker, I felt it was essentially wasted time if I hit the hay. The truth was, I wasted many mornings from essentially not being effective with my time after 10 pm. Watching television and scrolling my smartphone has never felt worth sacrificing the rejuvenation my body gets with sleep. My mindset regarding the impactful benefits of rest arose from reading...

I love this book for its jam packed data and inspiring messages from Matthew Walker. My attitude towards going to bed before 11 pm truly shifted for me after learning more about what is going on during the hours of sleep. Yes, we need HOURS. There are plenty of books out there about the power of sleep & I encourage you to add it to the list.

Working early in the morning has majorly attributed to my lifestyle change as well. I strive for 8 hours a night of sleep, which gets met most of the time. I have also made it a part of my regime to workout before work since I have the most energy beginning a new day vs. the body's natural fatigue that sets in during the evening. Before you go and paint the full picture, I can still get groggy when I wake up haha. I have yet to create the habit where I wake up with a bright smile and leap out of bed with excitement. We are not there yet. If anything, the more I value sleep the more I just want to sleep for my entire life (at least until the pandemic subsides). You could say the pandemic has also attributed to my early nights since I am no longer twerking my bum on the dance floor and waving my phone flashlight at a concert. Oooo I miss concerts.

Since I have fallen deeply (REM deep) in-love with sleep, I have found ways to embark on making the activity of doing NOTHING but close my eyes the greatest self-care process of all. Before I list my favourite go to strategies I most note that they might not all work for you and know that you do not need to go shopping after you read this aha.

What helps me get more cozy and fall asleep faster:

• Spotify's Nothing Much Happens, adult bedtime stories (change settings so that Spotify stops after story ends) Kathryn Nikolai has a soft voice and she writes everything she reads. I use this as a resource when I need support falling asleep after a hard day or my brain feels busy.

• A heating pad on my back or abdomen. I started doing this when my back would ache from my old injury but now I just choose it because its sew noice.

• Eye mask and/or ear plugs. I have tried both on separate occasions and in the beginning it was uncomfortable to lose a sense of sight or hearing. I have found that over time they have offered me more quiet and less stimulus to sleep. It is as if someone is gently resting their hands over my eyes and encouraging me to relax. I attribute the eye mask usage to my best friend Rachel. She has extra and I tried it one night during a sleepover! She advocated for them but never pushed the idea and warned me that its a bit disorienting at first.

• A pillow between the knees to level out the hips if you are a side sleeper. I pillow under you knees to flatten your low back if you sleep on your back. The whole point is to neutralize your spine as much as possible cus awkward positions over a long period of time can mess with your posture and cause injury even.

• Body pillow to hug (cus 4 pillows around you isn't enough?) This is good for the shoulders and tricks your brain to think you are spooning your loved one (or future lover if you single and a lonely pringle)

• a fan, rain app or whitenoise app to soothe yourself into a peaceful dream. I will admit every time my fan is on, I find it more difficult to wake up in the morning. Perhaps its the freezing air in the face? I try not to direct the fan too close to me. I do wonder how much electricity I am using with the fan at night though. Also, Conrad is not a fan of a windstorm concept.

• a soft blanket to wrap around your upper body under the comforter

• Some soft music can do the trick

• slow and steady deep breathing techniques to get out of the past or future mode as well as slow the heart rate down - truly does your heart a favor!

• lavender oil as a relaxing scent to take in before laying onto your pillow

I am sure there are plenty more tricks that I have not named and if so, what are yours?! I am curious and open to trying new things.

Until next post, have plenty of deep sleeps in solitude.

Yours,

Zoey Fern